4. A U.N. disaster team arriving to the area Saturday was shocked by the scenes of total devastation.

“The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami,” United Nations Disaster Assessment Coordination Team Chief Sebastian Rhodes Stampa said. “This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumble weed and the streets are strewn with debris.”

5. The Philippines’ central islands were particularly hard hit as extreme winds and giant waves flattened communities across the area.